


Hockey Hunk w/ Cats

by editingatwork



Series: Cuteness Alert [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-17 13:00:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13077387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/editingatwork/pseuds/editingatwork
Summary: Alexei does a photoshoot covered in adorable cats and Kent can't deal.





	Hockey Hunk w/ Cats

Kent is having a crisis.

“You’re not having a crisis.”

“Swoops, fuck you, I am having the  _definition_  of a crisis.”

Kent is sitting on the floor with his head in his hands. A copy of the newest issue of  _Vanity Fair_  is lying next to him, its pages open to the four-page photo spread of the man on its cover.

That man is Alexei Mashkov. In the photos, Alexei is sitting in or near a rustic wooden bed, either half-under or sprawled on top of soft sheets, and wearing a tank top and clean drawstring sweatpants. The room’s decor is simple and whitewashed. The lighting is natural and soft, reminiscent of early morning, the kind that makes lovers linger in bed trading kisses before the growl of their stomachs force them in search of toast and coffee. In the photos where Alexei is looking at the camera, his smile is soft. Loving.

That’s not the worst part, though. No, what’s got Kent sitting on the floor of the Aces locker room instead of getting his skates on for practice is the fact that, in these photos, Alexei Mashkov is  _covered_  in cats.

Pages rustle as Swoops picks up the magazine. “It says here all the cats are rescues,” he says. “There’s little blurbs with their names and a website to visit if you want to adopt them.”

Kent moans feebly.  He hears Swoops turn a page.

“Aw, this one’s licking Mashkov’s nose. It says her name is Snowball.”

Kent digs his fingers into his hair. “Fuck all of you for showing me this.”

Swoops smacks Kent’s shoulder with the magazine. “Parser, you’re  _dating_  him. You literally see his business covered in cat hair all the damn time. It’s not  _that_  big of a deal.”

Sounds in the locker room are dwindling. Now that Swoops has made himself the designated Parson-wrangler, they’re getting on the ice before coach comes in to yell at them.

Kent waits until they’re alone before he admits, “Yeah, but now I think I wanna  _marry_  him.”

There’s a prolonged silence, and then a comprehending, “Ah.”

“He’s supposed to be hot and scary, not–fucking–sweet and domestic. I always thought I’d die alone ‘cause I don’t want kids, but goddamn  _Vanity Fair_  is making me wanna settle down with him and raise two-point-five cats.”

Swoops chokes on his laughter. “You’re gonna raise half a cat?”

“I am having a  _crisis_ , Swoops, don’t laugh.”

Swoops sighs and sits down next to him. “Fine, you’re having a crisis. It’s not that terrible, though. You just like the guy more than you thought. Is that really so bad?”

Finally, Kent lifts his head from his hands. “What if he says no?”

“Well, for one thing, Parser, you’ve been dating him, what, six months? You’re probably not proposing to him until at  _least_  after the one year mark, so. Maybe focus on getting there before you pick out rings.”

“Right,” Kent agrees. He reaches for the magazine and Swoops gives it over easily. The photos are still a punch to the gut: sweet, warm, full of cats. He has seen Alexei like this before, curled up in Kent’s bed with the morning light streaming over him and Kit flopped somewhere on or against him. It always makes his heart stop. But it’s never hit him like this, because those little moments were always  _private_. They had no bearing on the real world. Now, Kent is imagining Alexei looking at him like that in public, a wedding band on his finger, and it’s making him feel way more than he ever imagined it could.

“We’re gonna be late,” Swoops says when Kent’s silence has stretched too long. “Coach is gonna kill us. Well, he’s going to kill you, because you’re the captain.”

Kent shuts the magazine and gets up when Swoops does. “Right. Yeah. Practice.”

“And you can’t marry Mashkov if you’re dead,” Swoops adds.

Kent has the magazine now, so he tries to hit him with it. Swoops ducks away.

“Would one of you change your name, or would you hyphenate?” Swoops asks, and dances backwards when Kent tries to retaliate again. “Or you could just mash your names together. Mashson. No, wait–Parkov!”

“I’m keeping this!” Kent says, waving the magazine. “I hope it was fucking expensive because you’re not getting it back.”

“Worth it,” Swoops replies, and, because he’s already got all his hockey gear on, he leaves Kent behind to get dressed by himself.

“Asshole.” Kent sits back down and pulls out his skates. He flips the magazine pages open so he can look at the photos while he gets ready. They really are nice. Part of him wonders why Alexei didn’t tell Kent he was doing this. But on the other hand, Alexei probably kept it a secret for the sake of Kent’s reaction.

Kent’s reaction is probably not the one Alexei expected. He has a  _lot_  to think about. But he can’t say he minds.

And he  _really_  likes the photos.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on [tumblr](http://punmasterkentparson.tumblr.com).


End file.
